Community & Public Health

Whether it's Taco Bell’s Naked Chicken Chalupa or the Flamin' Hot Cheeto Bagel, media coverage of stunt foods “only normalizes extreme levels of salt and sugar in food and alters our taste buds to promote addiction,” argues Dr. Monya De.

Chronic Disease, Food and Nutrition

The solution lies not in building more psychiatric facilities, but in providing effective treatment and supports in the least restrictive setting, says Dr. Fred Osher.

Health Insurance and Costs, Healthcare Regulation and Reform, Mental Health, Chronic Disease, Community Safety, Patient Safety and Ethics

If there’s any police department that understands what an opioid epidemic means for a community, it’s New Mexico's Española Police Department. Even the chief of police has had addiction struggles within his own family.

Mental Health

When kids are at high risk for addiction, a good public school system can be one of the most effective ways to prevent drug use. In Española public schools, teacher turnover and administrative problems have instead created instability for students.

Research shows early childhood education is one of the most effective ways to prevent drug use later in life. That’s especially important in New Mexico's Rio Arriba County, where an opioid epidemic has been raging for decades.